Why?
by Wenwalke
Summary: He'd almost lost his partner, his brother. Now he needed to know why?


**Summary:** He'd almost lost his partner, his brother. Now he needed to know, why?

 **Note:** Set after S05E18. I know this has been done a number of times, by some very good authors, but here's my attempt. I need to thank both Rewob17 and TheDogo for encouraging me to post this, and the beta work they did. They are both amazing authors, and I feel privileged that they've helped me make this story better. Any remaining mistakes are mine.

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters, they belong to CBS. I'm just taking them out to play for a while.

Steve quietly pulled the door closed, but not quite, to his guest bedroom. This was the third time, in as many hours, that he'd stuck his head into the room to check on his sleeping partner. He still couldn't believe that Danny was here, safe, and while he was a little worse for wear, alive.

He'd wanted to go to the Colombian prison where Danny was being held to free his partner but that had just not been possible. He knew that breaking Danny out wouldn't have freed him. It would've simply made them both fugitives.

After the team found Reyes' drugs, and books, in the old oil refinery they'd destroyed the drugs, so they couldn't end up on the street.

Leaving his partner in that prison while they'd flown back to Oahu had been torture. But forcing Agent Alexander to legally have Danny released was a priority and required the personal touch.

The wait at Hickam Air Force Base, for the military transport Joe White had arranged to bring Danny home, had been a test of his patience.

At the sight of Danny being helped from the plane by a medic, Steve couldn't hold back any longer and had run to his side.

But Danny refused to go to the hospital, even though Steve had argued that he should be checked by a doctor to make sure there were no internal injuries. Danny's first priority, as always, was Grace.

The medic had treated Danny on the plane, taping his cracked ribs, and cleaning the abrasions on his face. There was not much that could be done about the many bruises that covered a large part of Danny's body, but he'd run IV fluids for the duration of the trip, along with pain relief.

Steve finally gave up and agreed to take Danny home, where he could shower and change before going to see Grace. But after that, there was no arguing, as Steve simply drove to the hospital, where his partner was checked and released, and then to his own house.

Now his partner was in an exhausted sleep, and Steve kept checking, every hour because he'd thought he'd lost his brother and he'd never see him alive again.

Finally, at 3 am, Steve grabbed a blanket and pillow off his bed and lay down on the floor in Danny's room. He knew he was never going to get any sleep if he stayed in his own room. He needed to be able to see his brother whenever he opened his eyes, and this seemed like the best solution.

It took a couple of hours, but eventually, Steve fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the soft snores emanating from his partner.

Danny woke to bright sunshine streaming into the room. He blinked a few times, puzzled until he remembered he was in Steve's guest room. It was over. He was home, in Hawaii. He smiled to himself. He could finally admit that Hawaii was his home, that his team was just as much his family as his blood relatives in New Jersey were.

With a contented smile, Danny gingerly rolled over, intent on getting up to go to the bathroom. He stopped, and the smile left his face at the sight before him. Steve lay on the floor beside his bed, a light blanket covering him. Danny could tell Steve had not slept well because even in sleep, his partner looked worried and stressed. The fact that he was the cause of Steve's distress didn't sit well with Danny.

Slowly, and carefully, Danny pushed up to sit on the side of the bed.

"Steve," He'd said it quietly in the hopes it wouldn't startle the SEAL, but that didn't work at all.

Steve was awake and on his feet so fast, Danny felt dizzy watching him.

"Whoa there, babe," His hands raised in a gesture of surrender, Danny waited until Steve was fully awake before continuing. "There's no threat here, babe. Just me, and the way I feel right now, I'm no threat to anyone."

Steve visibly calmed and made a huge effort to get his breathing, and heart rate, under control.

"What are you doing sleeping on the floor? It's creepy, babe."

Steve moved to sit on the bed beside Danny before he answered.

"I wanted to be close in case you needed anything. And besides, I wasn't getting any sleep in my own room." Steve ran a hand over his face. Glancing at the clock he realised he'd been asleep for a little over two hours, but he didn't feel refreshed by it.

"I'm sorry, Steve." Danny sighed.

"Just tell me why, Danny. Why you didn't fight extradition. Why you thought you needed to protect me? And why you called Grace instead of calling me for money because I know about that. Grace called me." Steve turned slightly so he could see Danny's face.

"Why? Because it was my fault that Matt was killed and that you were there when I murdered Reyes. You shouldn't have to pay for my mistakes." Danny stared at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to look at his best friend.

"No. We were both there. We should both have been arrested."

"But we weren't, and there was no way I was going to tell them about you being there. If they didn't know about you then why tell them? I'm just glad Anderson didn't come after you when you confronted us in the hallway." Danny was still refusing to look at Steve.

"I'm sorry, there's a reason I wasn't arrested with you, and it's because of Doris." Steve placed his hand on Danny's arm and squeezed.

"What? What are you sorry for? I'm glad she kept you out of that jail." For the first time, Danny looked up at his partner.

"But she didn't keep you out, Danny. If you'd fought extradition you may not have gone there either." Steve held eye contact with his brother and let the frustration he felt regarding the actions of his mother only protecting him, show through.

"If I hadn't waived extradition, then everything would've been plastered all over the news. Grace would have seen it and had to deal with all of that. No, it was better that I just go, and it's not like I wasn't guilty." Danny couldn't hold eye contact any longer, so he went back to looking at the floor.

"The only thing you were guilty of was protecting your family. Reyes would have come after you again. You know that. He'd have come after Grace. I was there, I heard him. You had no choice, Danny." Steve's fingers tightened on Danny's arm. He wanted his partner to snap out of this guilt.

"I did have a choice, Steven. I could have taken him to the authorities." With a sigh, Danny tried to stand, but Steve held onto his arm to keep him seated.

"Sure you could have, and he'd have been released within the hour and still come after you." Steve moved closer and put an arm around Danny's shoulder. "No, you did the right thing. And if you hadn't, I would have done it for you."

Danny looked at Steve for a few moments, seeing the truth of Steve's words. Then he lowered his head again without replying.

"So answer the last part of my question, Danny. Why'd you call Grace?"

"I called her to say goodbye. It was the only chance I was going to get. I knew that I wouldn't last long in there. Between the other prisoners and the guards, sooner or later I'd be killed. That's what happens to cops in a Colombian jail, right?"

"Not if you'd called me for money, the guards would have made sure they kept you alive so they could keep getting money."

"Maybe I just didn't want to stay alive in that place. Maybe I didn't deserve to live." Danny tried to move away from Steve. But Steve just tightened his arm around, holding him in place.

There it was. What Steve had known all along, but needed Danny to say out loud.

"That's the real reason you didn't call me, isn't it? You think you don't deserve to live because you couldn't save Matt, and you killed Reyes."

Steve turned Danny so he had to look at him.

"What about all the people who need you here, alive, Danny? What about Grace, Chin, Kono, me? We all need you, Danny."

"Grace has Rachel, and I knew you'd take care of her. Chin and Kono would move on." There was a pause and Danny's eyes dropped. "And so would you."

"No. You're wrong." Steve let go of Danny and stood. He paced briefly then stopped to stand in front of his partner, his brother.

"Grace would be devastated, and while I can't speak for Chin and Kono, I'd never be able to move on." Steve knelt so he could look Danny in the eyes again. He needed Danny to know how sincere his next words were. "Knowing that you died, alone in that hell hole when I should have been there with you? That would have killed me. Because I'm just a guilty as you are."

"You didn't pull the trigger, I did."

"Yes, but I didn't stop you."

Steve moved to sit beside Danny on the bed again, pulling his partner into a one-armed hug. Danny let his head rest against Steve's shoulder, and there was no sound for a few moments.

"So is it really over?" Danny finally broke the silence.

"Yes, Danny. It's over. Anderson cleared your name so he could stay out of jail. The Colombians are no longer interested in you." Steve ran his hand up and down Danny's arm. "You're home now and no one is taking you away again."

"You repeat this and I deny I ever said it," Danny whispered as he looked up at Steve. "It's good to be home."

"I love you, brother." Steve smiled at Danny as he turned and pulled him into a proper hug, careful not to squeeze too tight because of his brother's injuries.

"Yeah, I love you too." They stayed that way briefly until Danny poked Steve in the ribs. "Now let me go, you gigantic octopus, I need to go to the bathroom." Danny stood as Steve released him.

"How about you clean this mess up that you have going on my bedroom floor. Oh, and what's for breakfast, because I'm starving."

Steve smiled as he followed Danny from the room. It was so good to have his partner, no his brother, back. He'd missed Danny calling him names, and ranting at him over the last few days. Now their lives could get back to normal, well as normal as they ever where that is.

 **The End**


End file.
